Pomperaug HS Robotics Team Competes at World Championship

From Pomperaug Regional School District 15:

Middlebury, CT - The Pomperaug Robotics Team recently competed in the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Championship World Championship (FRC) April 22-25 in St Louis, Missouri. The Pomperaug Team, called Panther Project Team #2064, advanced to the semi-final round, placing 4th in the Archimedes division. Over 3000 total teams from around the world compete and this years’ finish places the Pomperaug Robotics team as one of the top 32 teams in the world. This is the highest finish for the Pomperaug Robotics team since its inception in 2007. Brian Marganski, a Technology Education teacher at Pomperaug High School, is the FRC Robotics Advisor.

To participate in the championship, teams qualify at local and regional events. The best 625 teams are invited to the World Championship as determined by their ranking and success at all prior cumulative events. There are 8 divisions of 75 teams that compete to determine the winner of that division. During the 2016 season, Pomperaug Robotics competed at two district events in Waterbury, CT and Providence, RI, and one regional championship in Hartford, CT, prior to the World Championship.

According to the 2016 FIRST Championship website, the FIRST Robotics Competition combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams of 25 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. It’s as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get. Volunteer professional Mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. The main sponsor of Pomperaug Robotics is Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company & PTC Design Software. The following individuals and local businesses sponsor the program: John Laverack of Nexus Design LLC, Chris Wolf of Ace Hardware in Woodbury, CT, Walter Crudele of Global Steering Systems, Dan Connors of Thule, and Robert Zapor of Brookfield High School.

On Saturday, May 14th Pomperaug High School will host the off-season Connecticut Robotics State Championship, from 8:30am- 6:00pm. The public is invited to learn more about the program and to see the students and robots in action.

Photo (Panther Project 2016) Cutline: Panther Project 2064 compete in the FIRST Robotics World Championship.